Talk:Willimantic River

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I am writing to appeal the accusations of breaking the Self-Published Sources policy, specifically the middle paragraph in bold, regarding the articles with Connecticut Explorer’s Guide listed as a reference. Even though Connecticut Explorer’s Guide is a commercial website, it is free and a comprehensive outdoor recreation resource. About half of it’s content are links to difficult-to-find recreation maps. The other half of the content are original map data created using GPS and interfaced with National Geographic TOPO! map software (an extended user’s agreement with the National Geographic Society). These TOPO! maps were scanned versions of the USGS topographic maps and should be considered valid as a cited source. Even though the overlayed map data created using a GPS is a Self-Published Source, the remainder of the maps are unarguabley accurate. Even though the GPS data may have small errors resulting from technical limitations, the data should be considered as reliable and as accurate as reasonabley possible. These map pages have been linked from Wikipedia content as references by the author of both Connecticut Explorer’s Guide and the Wikipedia content. The geographic descriptions of the subject area is mostly derived from the USGS-sourced TOPO! maps used on the pages of Connecticut Explorer’s Guide. The Wikipedia content descriptions of the overlayed map data are mere mentions of existing recreational opportunities of that geographic area and not reliant on a 100% accurate map. Connecticut Explorer’s Guide has been used as a reference in good faith in order to increase Wikipedia’s content about these Connecticut locations. Additionally, Connecticut Explorer’s Guide has been indexed as a Digital Geodata resource on UCONN’s Magic Library website. This should help to validate Connecticut Explorer’s Guide as a valid resource.

Self-published sources (online and paper)

Policy shortcut:WP:V#SELFWP:SPS

Anyone can create a website or pay to have a book published, then claim to be an expert in a certain field. For that reason, self-published books, personal websites, and blogs are largely not acceptable as sources.[4] Self-published material may, in some circumstances, be acceptable when produced by an established expert on the topic of the article whose work in the relevant field has previously been published by reliable third-party publications. However, caution should be exercised when using such sources: if the information in question is really worth reporting, someone else is likely to have done so. Self-published sources should never be used as third-party sources about living persons, even if the author is a well-known professional researcher or writer; see WP:BLP.